Vascular Surgery

Difficulty getting blood from whole body

04/18/2006

Question:

My one year old son has neutropenia (low white blood cells) and has a very difficlut time getting blood from anywhere. Either the lab tries his veins and they either collapse, or no blood comes out until the needle is removed. Then when the lab tries finger or toe sticks the blood clots almost every time, is this normal?

Answer:

It may be that the flow is so slow out if the tiny finger or toe veins that the blood clots as soon as it comes in contact with container it is being collected in. This is not uncommon when trying to get blood out of such small vessels.

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